Paper short abstract:

The paper discusses the emergence of an expertise of intra-mediation after Fukushima. It argues that epistemic justice is not enough. Civic justice that engages everyday decision making of diverse publics is necessary to address the everyday stakes and concerns of the exposed public.

Paper long abstract:

In the years following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident in 2011, citizen science flourished across Japan. The seeming democratization of knowledge surrounding radiation exposure, however, did not necessarily allow citizens to affect policy decisions, nor did it provide them with clear answers on how to deal with and live well with exposure. Drawing on insights from STS, scientific and medical experts in Japan have shifted their emphasis from acknowledging and facilitating Public Understanding of Science in order to affect science and policy, to emphasizing the need for “Expert Understanding of the Public” to support the public in their everyday decision-making. Based on ethnographic research in Japan, this paper discusses the emergence of expertise of “intra-mediation” in Japan after Fukushima and discusses its forms and limitations. I argue that democratization of knowledge through epistemic justice is not enough. Civic justice that engages everyday decision making of diverse publics is necessary to address not only exposure but the political structure that often leaves out the everyday stakes and concerns of the exposed public.